The Next Generation of Taylor's 12-string Tone
Blending a touch of Taylor tradition with a suite of forward-thinking upgrades, the Taylor Next Generation 454ce reinvents an all-time classic with road-ready Claria electronics and bass-rich Scalloped V-Class bracing. This refreshed and revised 12-string begins with the traditional 454ce tonal combo of a sweet, responsive, and powerful Sitka spruce top and overtone-dense rosewood for the back and sides, helping to unearth every shimmering element of that classic 12-string chime. However, Taylor’s Scalloped V-Class bracing imparts this Grand Auditorium with a deeper low-end thump and a more responsive resonance — all while retaining the V-Class bracing’s signature balance and projection. As for acoustic-electric tones, Taylor’s Claria under-saddle pickup system provides plug-and-play performance with handy soundhole-mounted Volume, Tone, and Mid-Contour controls. Finally, the 454ce’s ebony-capped mahogany Standard Carve neck comes equipped with Taylor’s trailblazing Action Control neck system that allows users to optimize the neck’s angle (and thus the action) while also boosting resonance. For decades, the Taylor 454ce has reigned as the top performer in the Taylor lineup, offering players the same premium tonewoods as the brand’s most esteemed offerings but in a more accessible package. The Taylor Next Generation 454ce continues that legacy in style, ushering in a whole new era of tone for one of America’s most treasured music makers.
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Plug-and-play Claria System electronics
Road-tested and refined for over two years with the world's biggest touring acts, Taylor’s Claria System represents the next step in the brand’s ceaseless pursuit of acoustic-electric excellence. As opposed to the more sensitive and microphone-like performance of Taylor’s ES2, the Claria System features a single under-saddle piezo transducer paired with a powerhouse preamp to supply you with the warmest, most accurate acoustic-electric tone possible with the least amount of tweaking required — simply plug in, adjust your sound to taste via the Volume, Tone, and Mid-Contour controls, and you’re ready to go.
So, how does the Claria System differ from a typical under-saddle pickup? Taylor’s expert engineers built Claria from the ground up to overcome the most endemic challenges of standard under-saddle setups, allowing the system to perform free from piezo distortion and avoid unwanted frequencies with its clear and focused voice. Moreover, Claria also avoids clipping by gain staging the preamp and the controls within the preamp. As for tone shaping, Claria’s Mid-Contour control offers a vast sweep of dynamic sounds to explore, from smooth, rhythm-ready warmth to a midrange-forward timbre that promotes lead playing and fingerpicking to the forefront of the mix. For the guitarist seeking a plug-and-play system that preserves their guitar's inherent acoustic character and excels in any environment without a fuss, Taylor’s Claria system is as good as it gets.
Rich and responsive Scalloped V-Class bracing
First launched in 2018, Taylor’s V-Class bracing revolutionized the brand’s sound with one of the most innovative advancements in steel-string technology in nearly a century. Here, Taylor has changed the game once again, tweaking the forward-thinking formula of V-Class by precisely paring away material from key locations of each brace.
The result is Taylor’s Scalloped V-Class architecture, a design that preserves all the defining sonic features of standard V-Class bracing with a more muscular bass response and a softer, warmer blend among notes. Strum an open cowboy chord, and Scalloped V-Class delivers the familiar low-end thump and harmonic cohesion that’s most often associated with typical X-braced instruments. However, as a direct descendant of Andy Powers’ original V-Class design, Scalloped V-Class bracing preserves the former’s spot-on pitch accuracy, rich sustain, impeccable balance, and crisp note-to-note definition — especially as you venture farther up the fingerboard with complex chords, intricate fingerpicked patterns, and rapid-fire leads.
Grand Auditorium body style delivers a full sound and sleek look
Acoustic players all over the world — including many here at Sweetwater — routinely reach for Taylor Grand Auditorium guitars like the Next Generation 454ce. This guitar boasts a comfortable waist, a full range of sounds, sharp definition, and a sleek appearance, making it an excellent intermediate option for fingerpickers and singer/songwriters alike. With this level of prestige, it's no wonder so many players depend on its rich sounds and smooth playing, set after set.
Cutting-edge Action Control neck joint
Taylor has led the charge in neck joint technology for decades, from Bob Taylor’s earliest bolt-on experiments to the dawn of the easily adjustable NT Neck at the turn of the 20th century. Under the leadership of Andy Powers, Taylor has once again pushed the boundaries of steel-string design with the Action Control Neck, a trailblazing bolt-on system that allows you to adjust the neck angle without requiring removal of the neck or strings.
From fine adjustments to optimizing the neck’s pitch over the top, the Action Control Neck gives you the power to set your string height from shred-ready specs to a higher, strum-friendly action with the turn of a bolt. Moreover, it also transforms repairs that generally require major surgery on traditional glued-in dovetail joints (such as neck resets) into a straightforward, routine procedure. Best of all, the Action Control Neck’s long-tenon joint protrudes well into the heel to properly mate your guitar’s neck and body, increasing the stiffness of the heel and resulting in a deeper tone with greater low-end resonance, even on higher notes.
A classic tonewood combination
Nothing beats the sound of rosewood topped with spruce. As a top tonewood, Sitka spruce offers a combination of strength and elasticity that delivers a broad dynamic range with crisp articulation, ideal for a wide range of playing styles, from delicate fingerpicking to aggressive flatpicked strumming. Used for the back and sides of the Next Generation 454ce, Indian rosewood’s extended frequency range and rich, musical tonality have elevated it to premium status among tonewoods. Its potent low end can serve up a throaty growl while sparkling treble notes ring out with bell-like clarity. Slightly scooped in the midrange (compared to mahogany), rosewood acoustic guitars are perfect for solo performance, vocal accompaniment, and tracking in sparse arrangements.
Taylor Next Generation 454ce Features:
- The Next Generation revision to Taylor’s time-tested 454ce platform, featuring the brand’s under-saddle Claria electronics system and scalloped V-Class bracing
- Sitka spruce top provides a sweet and responsive tonal foundation
- Scalloped V-Class bracing boosts low-end performance and results in a warmer, richer resonance
- Rosewood back and sides ring with resonant overtones and a powerful low-end thump
- Claria under-saddle electronics system provides acoustic-accurate tones and plug-and-play simplicity
- Soundhole-mounted Volume, Tone, and Mid-Contour controls for quick tone sculpting
- Mahogany neck in Taylor’s always-comfortable Standard Carve profile
- Action Control neck joint system gives users the ability to set the neck’s angle, allowing for easy action adjustment
- Long-tenon neck joint enhances your sound with a deep low-end resonance and a fuller-bodied tone
- 15-in.-radius ebony fingerboard studded with Weathervane Italian acrylic/faux pearl inlays
- Unfaltering Taylor Mini nickel tuning machines promise impeccable stability for setlists of any length
- Additional aesthetic appointments include a firestripe pickguard, black body binding, and a single-ring rosette
- 1.875-in. nut offers an exceptionally comfortable width for flat pickers, without excess bulk
